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Train Your Dog – Explore Characteristics and Training Methods For Dogs

by Feb 24, 2019Train Your Dog8 comments

Train Your Dog

A Journey to Explore Characteristics And Training Methods for Dogs

 

In today’s world many of us view our dogs as part of the family and as a family member we all have to live by rules, even our dog. We want a dog that behaves and is adaptable to different situations, right? One that is good with people, other dogs and animals? Do you know how to help your dog to adapt to situations? What do many experts say? The answer is – Train Your Dog, provide him with a good foundation through the fundamentals of training.

So now people ask, what is the best way to Train Your Dog and how do you do it?

I want to answer this question and help any way I can, so let’s get on with our Journey and find out the best methods to train your dog and why training is so important in creating an adaptable dog that is healthy, happy and well-adjusted.

On our journey we will explore how to meet the needs of our dogs through health, happiness and the different characteristics of training, while discovering how to build a solid foundation to having a well-behaved and adaptable dog. Do you want to uncover the keys to a solid foundation for our dogs to flourish? Yes! There are some key factors dog owners must know and understand to create this firm foundation for our dogs, let’s explore.

 

Chapters

01 Is Training An Option for a Well-Adjusted Dog?

02 Dog Health – How Does It Contribute to Training?

03 Benefits of Training Happy Dogs

04 Exercise Your Dog For Improved Training

         Runners, Joggers and Strollers

05 Why Train Your Dog?

         Bonding, Communication, Manners and

         Aggression

06 What Are The Basic Training Needs For Your Dog?

        Socialize, House Train, Separation Training,

       Obedience Training, Crate Training

 

07 Understand Positive and Negative Reinforcement

08 Training Methods for Dogs

        Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning

        Traditional, Science Based, Mirror Training

        Clicker Training, Electronic Training

09 Dog Training From Home

10 Professional Dog Training

11 Train Your Dog – Wrap Up

Chapter 01

Is Training An Option
To Have a Well Adjusted Dog?

 

Dogs that are well-adjusted are normally healthy, happy and the owners have worked to train their dogs. I am busy creating a roadmap to help us along our journey here to help you discover what you can do to have an adaptable and well-adjusted dog. I hope you choose to come along on the journey with me and find out how training your dog contributes to a well-adjusted dog.

Making our puppies into a well-adjusted dog requires some effort, patience and being dedicated. There is no proper way to raise a well-adjusted dog; however, trainers and veterinarians do concur on several key factors that make a dog grow into a functional member of your household and many will tell you simply to train your dog and make sure to keep up with your dog’s health.

 

 

What should you expect out of your dog? As a dog owner, you should realize that a dog’s behavior is totally your responsibility, I know we don’t want to believe that and there are other factors that figure in such as breed, lifestyle etc… regardless if a dog is not trained properly and consistently the dog does not know what is expected and what pleases the owner. This is where training your dog comes into play to help your dog understand boundaries and good behavior.

As we become to understand how important it is to Train Your Dog to have a well-adjusted dog, we need to also understand that health and happiness are also factors that come into play. It should be noted that a dog’s health and physical needs must be chosen as a priority to ensure his well-being and to provide a strong base in training your dog.

Chapter 03

benefits of training happy dogs?

Continuing on our journey, we need to look at happiness in our dogs. We ask is our dog happy? How do we know? A happy dog will be more responsive when training and stay focused.

Dogs, like humans have feelings and love companionship. Leaving your dog outside and throwing it some food and maybe a bone once in a while is not enough to keep your dog truly happy as they need the interaction of humans to thrive.

A dog is man’s best friend and when given the opportunity to have a good relationship with their humans will make them totally dedicated and loyal. Dogs, unlike humans, have relatively short lives and like to live it at the fullest.

 

 

I have adopted a saying that to me is extremely powerful in remembering how important it is to interact with your dog. I know some people think it is just a dog, but keep this in mind, “Your dog may only be here for part of your life, but for your dog, you are their whole life”.

I know life gets busy and we cannot always give our dogs our undivided attention, but that is ok, a simple pat on the head, providing you dog likes that, and talking to your dog can make all the difference in the world to your dog. Providing positive interaction with your dog makes them happy, I know with mine if I am ignoring them too long they let me know, I get that look of remember me, I would love to have your attention look, and I know it is time to pay attention to the dogs.

Training your dog can really make a difference in your dog’s life and yours, cohabitating with your dog is a must when you have a dog. Dogs are quite adaptable if first, they understand what is expected from them, and secondly, they understand that they are loved and considered part of the family.

Dogs are quite intelligent and learn from those around them. Depending on how you respond to your dog and interact with them is detrimental in their happiness. If you are always screaming at your dog because they are in trouble you might find that you dog develops high anxiety or regresses or may even become aggressive depending on the personality of your dog.

Life with your dog can be very rewarding for both you and your dog, remember your dog is very loyal and loves unconditionally, and make awesome companions when you have taken the time to train your dog and provide positive interaction with your dog. With that said, dogs will flourish and be happy and content and less likely to get into mischief. It really is important to know if your dog is happy and content and can lead to a much better life.

Read More About Happy Dogs Here or Click The Button Below

Chapter 04

exercise your dog for Improved training

To continue our journey in training our dogs, we need to understand that to train your dog may also depend on the exercise needs of you dog. Dogs like humans have specific needs and if these needs are not being met in might be harder for you dog to concentrate on a training session.

Giving you dog plenty of exercise is essential as it keeps down boredom, they say a tired dog is a good dog. What this means is when you are making sure your dog has plenty of exercise and meeting those needs, you will find that your furry friend does not get bored as easy and start finding ways to entertain themselves, such as chewing up couches, chairs or you favorite pair of shoes.

Different breeds of dogs require different levels of exercise and depending on what the expectations are of the breed.  When you are deciding on the type and quality of exercise that you feel your dog needs, know that some dogs such as a Weimaraner that was bred to run or a Treeing Walker Coonhound that is bred for speed and endurance have much different needs than say a lap dog such as a Pekingese or even a Basset Hound. Another thing to look at is the health and age of your dog, an older dog may not require as much exercise as he needed when he was younger.

As you will see below I have put several of the dog breeds into different categories to give you an idea of what level of exercise your dog relates to. When determining the exercise needs for your dog you may consider a runner to need up to two hours of exercise where a stroller will do great with 30 minutes. Understanding your dog’s exercise needs and letting them expend their energy prior to training may make for a better training class and a dog that is more focused on what you are trying to teach them.

THE RUNNERS (High Exercise Requirement)
• Working Breeds
(Alaska Malamute, Siberian Husky)
• Sporting Breeds
(Afghan Hound, American Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Irish Water Spaniel, Treeing Walker Coon Hounds, Other Hounds)
• Herding Breeds
(Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd)
• Non-Sporting Breeds
(Dalmatian)
• Terrier Breeds
(Airedale, Miniature Schnauzer, Parson Russell Terrier)
THE JOGGERS (Medium Exercise Requirements)
• Working Breeds
(Akita, Boxer, mastiff, Rottweiler, Doberman)
• Sporting Breeds
(Cocker Spaniel)
• Herding Breeds
(German Shepherd, Old English Sheepdog)
• Non-Sporting Breeds (Chow Chow)
• Terrier Breed
(Softly Coated Wheaten Terrier, Scottish Terrier)
THE STROLLERS (Low Exercise Requirements)
• Working Breeds
(Great Pyrenees, German Pinscher, Newfoundland)
• Hounds
(Scottish Deerhound, Basset Hound)
• Non-Sporting
(French Bulldog, Bulldog, Bichon Friese)
• Toy Breeds
(Pekingese, English Toy Spaniel, Affenpinscher)

Bonding With Your Dog

Bonding with your dog creates a feeling of love and security between both you and your dog. I like to refer to it as more of a hierarchy of mutual trust. When we bond with our dogs it makes training your dog much easier and the dog will normally be more attentive during training sessions.  Working together through basic training and providing the training and direction your dog so desperately seeks will make living together a much better experience.

Many owners do not always understand that dogs thrive better when they interact with their humans and training can help tremendously with bonding with your dog and is such an important factor to living in harmony.

You might be trying to rap your head around how to bond with a dog, and hopefully I can help you understand that there are certain ways to make sure you can have that lasting bond and reap the benefits.

Some ways that may make bonding with your dog seem more natural is just by spending time with them, touching them and petting them. Dogs enjoy attention and petting your dog can even create comfort for you. Consider playing games with your dog or curling up on the couch watching television together.

I know our Sassy is extremely bonded to my husband due to taking naps together on the couch when she was just a puppy. I kept telling him that her sleeping on his chest is ok as a 10 pound puppy but when she is closer to 70 pounds it might be a bit uncomfortable, but yet the bond they formed has been unconditional.

There are many other ways to form a bond with your dog to include clear communication, defining mutual respect, and most importantly training your dog. Even though I have worked with our Sassy and we have a bond, she always listens and trains better when her dad is working with her. The deeper the bond the better training sessions you will encounter, and the trust grows stronger.

All dogs enjoy company of their human and desire that human interaction. Dogs love unconditionally and are so loyal. I feel every dog should have that chance to live a life bonded closely with their human and to be able to interact in a continuously positive way, training your dog is one of the ways to create this bond and ensures the dogs behavior is acceptable in your home.

Communicating With

Your Dog

Unfortunately, dogs do not understand our language as we know it and humans don’t understand what a dog is saying through barking, so how can you learn to communicate with your dog?

Have you ever looked at your dog and wonder exactly what he is thinking? I know I have, normally you just make up what you think they might be thinking, laugh, and go about your business.

Learning how to communicate with your dog makes life much easier as your dog will understand what you are communicating as well as the human understanding what the dog is trying to convey.

 

Yes, dogs do try to communicate with us.

Have you ever had a dog pick up an empty water bowl and bounce it off the kitchen floor a couple of times to show you, hey, the water bowl is empty? This is one of the ways a dog might communicate. Find out more in my article Talking to A Dog – Are You Really Communicating With Your Dog?

Should Your Dog

Have Manners?

One of the important reasons for training revolves around your dog having adequate manners. (And no, we are not talking about passing gas.) Training your dog can teach them to have manners when out in public or with someone coming to your home to visit.

Do you want to have an unruly dog

that you have to put up or throw outside?

When company visits, this can happen If you do not include manners in your training regimen. You might need to train your dog not to jump on people or not grab their pantlegs.

Manners is something that needs to be taught as early as possible. Bad behavior may result in actions that your dog learned when it was a young puppy, and everyone thought was so cute.

As an adult dog, many behaviors are not so cute anymore and can be very annoying and cause the dog to be removed from visitors or with some dog owners the dog ends up at the local pound.

Are Dogs Born With Aggressive Behavior?

Most dogs are born with an aggressive streak and other factors can play a role in escalating the aggression in a dog or combatting it. An aggressive dog can be the result of many factors such as environment, pain, fear, or resource guarding such as food or toys.

Training your dog from home as early as possible will help to de-escalate any aggression that may appear in the future of your dog’s life.

By nature, dogs when confronted have a tendency just as humans to fight or flight, meaning if they feel they are not able to avoid what they see as a problem or threat, they may hold their ground and attack.

Aggression is normally not tolerated; however, can develop over time if the dog owner does not take the measures to train their dog. It is always best when training your dog not to allow any type of aggressive behavior through play, as this may escalate the aggressive behavior and give you dog a signal that this is accepted.

Raising a new dog and teaching your dog should be a rewarding experience. From their young age, dogs are enthusiastic students. It is never too early to start training your dog.

You can begin to teach them immediately from the time you bring them home, failure to do this can lead to putting yourself and others at risk. If you are confused how to start training, you can help your best companion out on how to behave well by training your dog in the topics below.

Chapter 06

What Are The Basic Training Needs For Your Dog?

Separation Training

A dog that is separated or left alone may suffer from separation anxiety. Teaching them that it is ok to be separate from you is another powerful training aspect that you should consider.

It is much better to have the chance to teach this type of training as soon as you can, so you do not have to worry about the anxiety that your dogs may encounter by being left alone.

Dogs that are experiencing anxiety due to being separated may become a danger to themselves, and more so, may have a tendency to be destructive when you are away.

To start this type of training it is best  to start slowly and build up the length of time you are away and provide toys or other ways to keep them busy while you are away.

House Training Your Dog

Training your dog to respect your house is another major reason to train your dog. Some of the most important training is involved in house training our dogs, this makes it much easier when living with our furry friends.

So, what is house training? House training is the boundaries the owner needs to set with their dog from day one, you decide what you will tolerate from your dog and then work to teach them right from wrong.

The most important house-training need, starts with teaching your dog that it is unacceptable to potty in the house and this training needs to start as soon as your new dog is brought home.

Depending on what your expectations are of your dog depends on what other house training needs you might need to teach your dog.

You might not want your dog on the furniture or to keep them out of the kitchen when you are cooking. Training them to not jump on your guests or even using a doggie door.

These are all training needs that you as the individual will need to teach your dog. Dogs need to understand their boundaries and have consistent and persistent training in these areas.

Crate Training

Crate training is a controversial subject in many people eyes as it is seen as cruel or in-humane. Some people have no other choice depending on their lifestyle than to use a crate for their dog while they are away. Other reasons you might consider to crate train your dog might result in a vet visit, going out of town and traveling with your dog, such as on a plane or even having to board them while you are out of town. Providing crate training is much better and causes less anxiety in these types of instances.

The important thing to remember is that dogs are den animals and with the correct crate training dogs actually enjoy time in their crates and provide security for your dog. Crates also afford a safe place and keep your dog from getting hurt while you are out, along with keeping them from mischief as they are learning and exploring.

The problems I see with using a crate is many people don’t limit crate time and dogs end up staying in the crate for extended periods of time. Most dogs like to have a clean, comfy crate and may get agitated if locked up for several hours.

When using a crate, the owner needs to be a responsible dog owner and understand the needs of their dog. The crate should be their safe haven not a form of discipline or leaving them to long not providing relief for their dog.

 

Chapter 07

Understand Positive and Negative Reinforcement

,Before getting into the different types of training, I want you to understand and know the difference between positive reinforcement training and negative reinforcement training. Reinforcement training can actually get quite confusing, I know it was for me when I was first trying to figure it out. I will try to keep it as simple as possible to help you understand what it is, and how it can be beneficial in training your dog. Let’s dive right in.

To begin I want to help you understand that positive and negative is just that, in mathematics we know it as adding or subtracting and in training your dog it works the same way. Positive is simply adding something and negative is taking away something.

Now to explain reinforcement, you want to think of anything that reinforces the behavior in your dog. Something that happens that your dog construes to be beneficial, such as a treat or eliminating pain, fear or anxiety.

When we talk about punishment, people go straight to the thought of punishing your dog for bad behavior and this is true; however, not in the way you might be inclined to think. Punishment is actually something that is removed that your dog finds value in.

 

 

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Through studies in behavioral science it has been proven that positive reinforcement training is much more effective, and dogs seem to learn quicker in a positive atmosphere. When we think of positive reinforcement, you want to think of this as some type of reward, basically rewarding the dog for the behavior. Rewarding the behavior is adding something to your dog that he likes so he is going to continue that behavior in order to get the positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement is introduced by adding value, which in-turn warrants a positive behavior or response. When training our dogs, they want to please us, so this form of training works well. Think about it as a team effort and make it enjoyable for both you and your dog. Training should be fun and fulfilling.

So, how does positive reinforcement turn into positive punishment? If the dog sits, you would normally give him a treat or a pat on the head thinking you are giving him positive attention, but what if you dog does not value a pat on the head and does not like it, this would actually diminish the behavior instead of reinforcing it. This is where a positive can turn into a more of a punishment and why knowing your dog is so important.

 

Negative Reinforcement Dog Training

Negative reinforcement training can have different aspects and meanings depending on the type of training you are offering your dog. When most people think of negative reinforcement they might think of punishment and in a way, it is, more so with a more traditional training approach than the more scientific approach.

Mostly, when thinking about negative reinforcement most think of the training using shock collars, pinches, and punishment directed to the dog, which in the more modern training has lost all value in how we train our dogs.

In the new modern methods of training your dog, negative reinforcement is taking away something that is negative, take away an action that your dog finds negative such as pain or fear. This might include the time your dog used the dining room floor as a bathroom and you screamed at you dog out of anger, causing fear or anxiety for your dog.

Negative reinforcement would be if it happens again, simply saying No, and rerouting your dog outside to use the bathroom. What this does is removes the fear or anxiety that you caused by screaming at your dog; therefore, creating a situation of negative reinforcement for you dog. You have taken away the fear.

Negative punishment is more of withholding the positive reinforcement, such as no treat unless the dog preforms the correct tasks or turning your back to the dog so they do not have your attention, it may even be walking away from your dog and ignoring him.

By using new positive and negative methods of training helps your dog understand what is expected by relaying to your dog there is value in the action. On the other hand, when the dog does find value in the action that behavior is dwindled down and lessens, and with consistency becomes extinct.

This leads us on the journey to understanding why it is important to understand how to train your dog and what your dog feels is a positive approach and what is punishment, leading us into finding out more about some of the methods to train your dog.

Chapter 08

Training Methods For Dogs

Everyone wants a well-trained dog; the question is how to train you dog? What methods do the professional trainers use? This is a loaded question, as every training method used by trainers have their own way of training and most all trainers feel that their way of training is the best way.

 

So what training is best for you and your dog?

In this section we will explore some of the different methods to train your dog, and explain how the different methods may help with your dog’s behavior and why it might be best for you and your dog.

There are many different theories on how a dog learns from brute force to complete positive enforcement. In training your dog, it all boils down to redirecting unwanted behavior and encouraging good behavior. How you get there is up to you, the dog owner.

Classical Conditioning For Dogs

Trying not to confuse everyone I want to explain a bit about Classical Conditioning, what it is and how it works. Classical Conditioning is a learning process that is present in any living thing that has the ability to learn.

You may teach your dog by Classical Conditioning without even realizing it, they may teach you as well. This training technique is a repeated action, that in turn, causes some type of action or response, good or bad.

I realized one day that the dogs actually had me Classical Conditioned as they would see something out front and want out, so they would run to the door barking and wanting out and I would let them out. By doing this I realized it was teaching them unwanted behavior and not acceptable in my home; however, I fell in the trap and they learned that if they would bark and run to the door I would let them out.

Another form of classical conditioning might be in the form of getting out a leash to go for a walk and your dog getting all excited. How does the dog know he is going for a walk and why is he all excited? This has probably happened many times you get the leash, hook up the dog and out the door you go. So now the dog associates the leash for getting to go for a walk and has learned by a repeated action and response.

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning for dogs is much like Classical Conditioning in the sense that a behavior is either rewarded or has a negative response, teaching your dog what is acceptable and what is not.

With Operant Conditioning you need to get to know your dog and understand what the dog feels is positive reinforcement for this to work. Most the time a positive is used by giving treats.

If you happen to give your dog what you think is positive reinforcement and the dog really does not like the action you have chosen, the dog will less likely repeat the Operant Condition.

To help explain this further, my Basset Hound loves belly rubs, but does not care for you to pet her ears. If she was to perform a wanted behavior which stimulant do you think would be positive and work better, the belly rub or caressing her ears? That’s right the belly rub!

She would be happy to do what you want if you give her that belly rub; however, by petting the ears she would see as a negative response. This is why it is important to know your dog and understand what they feel is positive and what might be negative.

Science Based Dog Training

As scientific studies show, the dog training industry is exploding with factual research of how dogs learn and how they should be trained and how different training techniques that are used may have a positive or negative affect on your dog.

Using more of a Scientific approach to training your dog leads to your dog learning quicker and easier as it is more fun for them than the Traditional Training.

Traditional Training is generally very negative and more domineering and in turn may result with the dog shutting down and not wanting to learn or even getting aggressive with the trainer or the owner.

Most information found on Science Based Dog Training result in using more of the Operant Conditioning skills and learning how dogs perceive the techniques that is offered in training.

By learning more of how your dog thinks and offering your dog a more positive training method, is advantages to the training and you will find that your dog enjoys and is eager to learn in this manner.

Traditional Dog Training

As Traditional Dog Training goes it is mainly the theory of who is the “leader of the pack” or the “Alpha dog”, going back to the theory of their nature to live in packs such as the wolves.

In this type of training, the trainer would take the role as the alpha, and many times negative behavior is diminished by some type of punishment, depending on the techniques of the trainer.

So, what does this Traditional Training teach the dog? It teaches the dog what not to do with negative consequences, which is still effective, your dog will understand and knows what behaviors are not accepted.

On the flip side, you need to make sure the trainer provides some type of positive training along with the Traditional Training, so your dog learns what is accepted and your dog is not so confused and understand acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

There are many trainers out there still using this type of training and it is believed to still work; however, from what I found can also lead to extreme anxiety in dogs and sometimes even resulting in aggression.

Mirror Training – Dogs learn by mimicking others

Dogs are very observant learners and mimic those around them.

With mirror training you can use a well-trained dog to help your dog learn basic behaviors by working with your dog and the trained dog simultaneously. The dog you are training will watch the behavior of the trained dog and try to mimic the behavior.

What if I don’t have a well-trained dog, how can I use this technique? The mirror training technique can be accomplished with using another human as the example, dogs observe both other dogs and human behaviors. If you teach the other human to sit and the human gets a treat, the dog you are training is more likely to follow suite.

I know this type of training to be true due to potty training a puppy with the hounds we have in the house. We have very rarely had issues trying to potty train our puppies as they are trained mainly by the other dogs. A potty-trained dog goes to the door and the puppy follows, so therefore the puppy learns that going out with the other dogs is where they do their business.

Clicker Training For Dogs

This method of training your dog is highly recommended by many trainers with very positive outcomes. Clicker Training is a form of Operant Conditioning and behavioral change is achieved here without the use of physical punishment or fear. Positive training reinforcement can be achieved by the use of a Clicker. A Clicker is a small device which makes a clicking noise when your pet has performed the appropriate action.

When training in this fashion the clicker is used as the dog completes the task, and because the clicker can be used quickly, it helps to pin-point the desired action and many feels is an easier way to train you dog. When using a clicker, it is generally backed up with a treat or positive reinforcement helping the dog understand that the clicking noise is a response for good behavior.

The clicker alerts the dog that something positive is about to happen, so they find that the clicking noise is a positive reinforcement leading to a positive training approach. 

Electronic Training

Electronic Training is a controversial subject and is a form of  Negative Reinforcement training or Tradition Training. Most times electronic training is used for dogs that are learning to hunt out in the fields to be able to correct actions unwanted by the trainer at long distances. The problems with electronic training, it is a form of negative stimulation either with a shock or spray to correct the action, this would fall into the characteristic of the positive punishment model, punishing the dog for a negative behavior.

Electronic Training should never be used by a novice due to the negative impact it may have on your dog and if not used correctly can cause your dog to have anxiety issues. A novice may not understand the impact that the electronic training may have on the dog and therefore, have a tendency to correct too much.

As I said before electronic training teaches unwanted actions are not ok; however, this method does not teach the dog what is acceptable leading to a confused dog. This is where the anxiety sets in as the dog needs to understand what the owner expects out of them and how to please the owner not if I mess up I am going to get zapped, the dog wonders what can I do, and what am I going to do to get zapped next time. You can see how this might create anxiety for you dog.

This type of training really does need to be left to the professional trainers, if it must be used, the trainer needs to provide other training along with the electronic training, so the dog does not find the training confusing and learn what is accepted by the trainer and the owner.

Chapter 09

Dog Training From Home?

As you may realize by now, you can train your dog at home. Dog training from home is an important factor, and for many reasons it is pertinent that we have the knowledge to train our dogs at home.  As you may find training your dog is one of the best ways to bond with your dog providing you use a more positive approach and looking at it as a team effort is rewarding for you and your dog.

As we have found in our journey there are many different ways to provide your dog with the training that is needed to have a pleasant experience when cohabitating with a dog. The method used to train your dog is really up to you and what is the best training program for you and your dog.

If you are still a bit confused by all the different techniques or methods, just remember, it is best to get to know your dog. Knowing your dog makes it much easier to identify what your dog feels is positive reinforcement and understanding what you dog sees as positive punishment.

One of our Treeing Walker Coonhound, Tracker, sees being kissed on the head as positive punishment; however, the other dogs feel that it is positive attention and would be viewed as positive reinforcement, so as you can see what is positive for some dogs may be punishment for others. The most important factor when training your dog at home is to understand your dog’s needs and help him to overcome any obstacles in the training arena.

Chapter 10

Professional Dog Training?

 

Even though it is good to provide dog training from home there are times that you may want or need to call in a professional to help in training your dog, or you might be up against a behavior issue that you just cannot get past. In cases such as this, it may be clear that professional dog training might need to be a consideration. So how do you decide on a professional trainer and move forward with a professional to help you in training your dog?

Professional trainers have a tendency to argue back and forth on what is the best way to train your dog and every trainer seems to have their own opinion. A more Traditional Trainer claims that when people bring them dogs that have been trying more positive methods that the dog has basically been bribed in training; whereas, a more modern trainer that the owner brings in that has been trained by a more tradition way of training may be shut down and aggressive.

When using a professional dog trainer for training your dog, what should you look for? With this question it depends on how you want to train your dog and what type of methods you feel is best for you and your dog.

When talking with a professional trainer, you can pick up on questions of how the trainer trains by listening to some of the language that the trainer uses.

If the trainer is more into Traditional Training they may use words such as teaching dogs to obey commands rather than helping your dog by correcting the behavior or mention that you have to become the Alpha to show the dog that you are in charge, instead of training as a team venture. There may also be those trainers that are in the middle of the road between traditional and more modern techiniques.

You will find a trainer that uses more of a positive approach they will talk freely of how they may train your dog and help you to understand the positive approach that they use.

Again, when trying to determine a good trainer, it is up to you to decide what methods and techniques is best for you and your dog.

Chapter 11

Train Your Dog – Wrap Up

When trying to make sure you have a healthy, happy and well-adjusted dog, it is important to make sure your dog’s health, happiness and training needs are always a priority. To help accomplish this takes getting to know your dog, bonding with your dog and providing the correct level of exercise that your dog requires. Researches have shown that people who walk and exercise with their dogs are all in all healthier, happier and live longer.

Dogs are always eager to learn and are always in learning mode whether you are training them, or they are learning from observing their surroundings. What this means is if you are not providing training for your dog then they may be learning bad behaviors and therefore, the owner blames the dog for the unacceptable behaviors.

A dog’s behavior is the responsibility of the owner and how your dog acts is really up to you. If you are dealing with a behavior that you do not understand and asking why your dog is behaving in that manner, look at what you are doing and how you might be rewarding the dog with a positive response. Just like when my dogs would see something and run and bark at the door.

Some important factors that we found on our journey that makes it easier to cohabitate with your dog consists of socialization, house training, teaching separation, obedience and crate training if you chose to use a crate.
On our journey we understand that to have a well-behaved and adaptable dog, you need to train your dog and we found there are many different methods and techniques that different trainers use from a more Traditional Training approach to the more modern methods.
Ultimately, get to know your dog and provide good health, and train your dog for a good foundation and to have an all-around healthy, happy and well-adjusted dog.
Let me know If you have any questions and I would love to hear what methods you have tried to train your dog and how your dog might have reacted. Please post in the comments below.

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